Sasless, since the mil and civsar flights are assessed according to completely different criteria and by different checkers, the quality of SAR provision is impossible to compare.
Rottweiler - the capability to operate overland, at night, in poor weather only exists in UK SAR in the military because it is a core military skill. There is an assumption that the CAA will give this same capability to civsar post 2012 but it is not a given - all the experience on NVG comes from the military and, much like instrument flying, it is a perishable skill requiring plenty of training to stay competent.
UKSAR post 2012 won't be cheaper for the taxpayer because maintaining the same capability that exists now will require lots of money and training - the last bidder to withdraw did so because they couldn't see any profit to be made within the required budget.
Like so many others, you have believed the 'it must be cheaper to civilianise' argument just because it seems obvious if you don't know anything about SAR.